Reliability-oriented selection for grid-connected converters: A low voltage direct current microgrid case study

Abstract

As the grid-connected AC-DC converter is the key equipment that links the low voltage direct current (LVDC) microgrids and the utility grid, the safe and stable operation of the converter is of great significance to improve the reliability of the LVDC microgirds. Since the converter’s reliability is affected by the converter’s topological structure and modulation strategy, a civil LVDC microgrid case study is analyzed, and the power losses, thermal stresses, lifetimes and reliability of components in the AC-DC converters with different topologies and modulation strategies are evaluated in this paper. The influence of these two factors on the reliability and efficiency of the converter is discussed, and the normalized weighted total harmonic distortion (NWTHD) with different modulation strategies is analytically determined and compared. The results show that when the converter operates with unity power factor in this application scenario, among the two-level converter, flying capacitor converter, neutral point clamped (NPC) converter and T-type converter, the T-type converter has the highest reliability. The effects of the converter’s topology and modulation strategy on the capacitor reliability are relatively small. In view of reliability and power quality, third harmonic injection pulse width modulation (THIPWM) or space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) is more suitable for the converter in this microgrid.